


handsome devil

by spaace



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), First Dates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-10 23:33:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12310221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaace/pseuds/spaace
Summary: richie takes stan bird watching





	handsome devil

richie was very spontaneous. he acted on impulse, all the time. there was never anything that held him back, made him feel unsure. he took every chance he could, and never second guessed himself. but this was one thing richie thought long and hard about. he thought weeks about it, actually. all the losers are supportive, encouraging, egging him on. ("take him to the quarry, take him b-buh-bird watching. he'll like it," bill said. "he'll love it!" beverly chimed in.) richie thought it was a bad idea.

he thought it was cliché, played out. stan went bird watching by himself, and probably enjoyed it more. he could focus, and didn't have to make conversation with anyone. if he could have the place to himself, why would he want richie hanging out? richie tozier, the boy who knows nothing about birds, besides chicks. and more importantly, he wanted to make this special. he wanted to show stan he listened when he talked, that he knew he was more than some boy who liked birds. richie wanted to take stan to the arcade, at first, but he thought stan wouldn't like that as much as richie would. he thought about the theater, too, but there just wasn't any good movies out right now.

but here he is, here they are. the quarry was shaded in orange and shades of bright greens, autumn sunlight peeking through gaps of tall trees. richie thought he would have to climb them and sit upon a branch to get a better look at the birds, a thought he was dreading because he dressed as best as he could for this.. date? it couldn't be a date. richie didn't have the idea of it being a date, until just now. he was surprised stan even agreed to hang out with him - just the two of them. sometimes stan's jokes were so quick, delivered with an emotionless face, that more often than not, richie thought stan was telling the truth. but he was always assured with a friendly punch in the shoulder, or a smile that made richie's stomach turn, and his heart leap. 

bill and beverly's idea was going great, but it was more of a picnic than anything else. stan did bring his leather-bound hand book, but he bought it everywhere else, too.

"what is that? like, your bible or something?" richie joked, taking a bite out of an apple. he didn't know how long they would be out here, and he didn't know what to bring, really. so he bought some fruit and lemonade.

stan grinned, looking up from the page he had a finger on, "my torah, dumbass." he put a book mark inside before closing it and setting it aside. his binoculars were in his book bag, but he hasn't brought them out yet. 

richie swallowed. he didn't know if he should speak up, let stan know that he could climb the tallest tree he could find and take a look if he wanted too. that he could climb the tree and richie would be right behind him, or he would wait on the blanket they were sitting on, if he wanted him too. he just wanted stan to have a good time, and richie was nervous.

he calmed down a bit when stan started laughing. it made him feel like not everything was serious, he shouldn't be nervous. he chuckled under his breath a little, adjusting his glasses. richie loved to make his friends laugh, he was the jokester of the group, the class clown, if you will. most times, richie couldn't get a chuckle out of him. stan would stifle his laughter, and shake his head at richie's inappropriate jokes. but when he let it loose? man, did stan have a beautiful laugh. bill's laugh was gusty and big, it came from his stomach. but stan's was airy and light. it was like a giggle, almost like a bird's chirp. 

richie laughed too. stan bit his lip, and the two boys looked at each other. stan couldn't hold back his laughter any longer, there were tears forming in his eyes. he busted out laughing, leaning forward and placing a hand on richie's shoulder for support. richie started laughing again, too, leaning into stan. in this moment, he felt a way he never thought he could feel with stan. stan is laughing, hard now, wiping tears away from his eyes. richie is glad he's laughing, glad he's having fun. he's being open, and richie wants to see him like this all the time, with him. he thinks he could do that.

after the funniest thing either boy has never heard in their entire life, they started to clean up. the sun was setting now, it looked just like when richie lit up a cigarette, casting an orange glowy haze above the horizon. the light looked great on stan's olive skin, it made him glow. it looked great on his hair, too. richie assured he could hold everything, and that stan didn't have to worry, he would carry the picnic basket and blanket back.

when they’re walking to richie's pick up truck, stan stumbles over a rock, stumbling into richie’s side, and it only feels natural to richie to put an arm around his shoulder. he thinks stan might pull away, gain his balance back. but instead, he puts an arm around richie's waist. they walk the rest of the way like that, not talking and not looking at each other. richie’s finding it hard to breathe, having this boy in his arm, his arm around his waist. richie peeks at stan from under eyelashes magnified by glasses lenses, and he has to kiss him.

usually, richie's pretty smooth at this part. he’s good at reading when someone’s flirting but that’s all, when someone’s hoping he’ll make a move, when someone wants to make a move themselves and wants a sign that richie's receptive. but stan is different. he was clinging to richie like it’s life or death, but richie had to break apart to set his things in the back of the truck. when he turns around, stan is staring at the ground like he’s hoping it will open up and swallow him whole, and that’s throwing a wrench in richie's repertoire of moves.

“hey,” richie says softly, and stan looks up at him. he's not the shortest, that would be eds, but richie definitely has a foot on him. stan has a hand in his pocket, like he's cool, calm, and collected, everything richie, in this moment, definitely was not. and he's looking at richie with his big, doe like eyes. it makes richie's head spin. richie leans against his truck, pulling stan between his spread legs. this gives stan an inch of height advantage, “hey,” richie says again, even softer this time, “can i kiss you?”

stan answers by fisting his free hand in richie's shirt and mashing their lips together. it’s too hard and too fast and way, way too hot. it reminds richie of all the concerts he goes to, when the crowd is too crazy and he's getting hit left and right, sometimes he can't handle it. he lets out a grunt that he’d never imagined making tonight at all. he pulls away, catching his breath and both boys start laughing again

they sit in richie's truck for a while after that, listening to a mix tape. richie's patting against the dash board in time with the music with one hand, and stan is sitting criss cross in the passenger seat towards richie, holding his free hand in both of his hands, tracing the bones and tendons with gentle fingers. the song ends and richie lifts his hand out of stan's grasp and holds it up so they can compare. their hands are barely grazing against each other, and richie's are a little unsteady. richie's hand is definitely bigger, with knobby knuckles and scars. stan's fingers are longer than his, though, and very slender.

the next song begins to play, handsome devil by the smiths. stan sits up a bit in the passenger seat, his attention had been caught, but he doesn't move his hand. 

"all the streets are crammed with things / eager to be held / i know what hands are for / and i'd like to help myself-"

richie's almost embarrassed, and stutters out a, "i know you like the smiths," he admits. but then he tries to cover it up, joke about it, "even though the cure is better."

morrissey acted as richie's cupid tonight. stan intertwined their fingers, and a small part of richie thought, finally. he felt relieved. stan leaned forward, to kiss richie again, maybe? but richie pulls away.

richie takes off his glasses, standing them up in an empty cup holder. 

"you're blind without your glasses, rich," stan laughed.

"yeah, yeah. you're only a little blurry. you don't mind if i get closer, right?" richie chuckles at his own joke, and stan grins.

"nah, i won't," he whispers, leaning into richie again. 

they kiss, again. the right way this time, not as hard as earlier. was this a date? richie cups the back of stan's neck and pulls him in, their lips meeting softly. small and chaste, but perfect. richie thinks this is the kind of kiss suited for a first date, it was definitely a date.


End file.
